From the barren oil country of Texas, Jim Hall created racing cars, one after the other, that rocked and shocked the world of competition. The early Chaparrals with Chevrolet power and automatic transmissions. Their high-wing successors in the Can-Am. Closed coupes with high wings and big-blocks for Le Mans. The incredible, quickly banned “sucker” 2J. The first ground-effect car to win the Indianapolis 500.

We ought to mention that besides being an amazingly smart, Cal Tech-educated engineer, Hall was an exceptional race driver, having a career that dated back to 1954. The Road Racing Drivers Club is recognizing that by honoring the man from Midland at its annual West Coast banquet before the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The date is Thursday, April 12, and the location is the Hilton on Ocean Boulevard in Long Beach, California. We’re really curious about what kind of remarks will come from the famously taciturn Texan, a guy rivaled in that department only by Lloyd Ruby and Jim McElreath, a couple of other racers bred in the Texas countryside.